


song of silence.

by lordvoldyfarts



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8459254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordvoldyfarts/pseuds/lordvoldyfarts
Summary: an alien presses the mute button on national city and maggie realizes that it's all in body language.





	

Maggie’s never been a fan of silent movies.

Her mom loved them. In fact, one of her first real memories of her mother is watching a silent movie with her. She was on her lap, her mother braiding her hair, and she told Maggie, “Pay attention, mija. You can learn everything from body language.”

And well, it was mostly true. As a detective, Maggie learned people through body language. She learned people’s tells, which surprisingly still didn’t give her an advantage at the precinct poker nights, and how to pick a liar out of a lineup. It was all body language.

But still, she found she didn’t learn anything from silence. After years as a cop, and a few as a detective, Maggie’s learned that while body language did a lot, language did a lot more.

She’s in an expert in tone. She knows how to listen. She can read a lie told verbally than one given away by shaking hands or twitching of the nose.

Maggie likes words. It’s as simple as that.

So when an alien pressed the mute button on National City, it was pretty safe to say that Maggie wasn’t happy.

When the volume was turned back up, she would have  _ a lot  _ to say about it.

But for now? For now she has to work with what she has.

And that’s body language.

Alex and Supergirl are both in the precinct. Supergirl is hunched in the corner, brows furrowing each time she opens her mouth and no sound comes out. Alex looks serious, at least more serious than usual, as she routs through desks to find paper to write on.

They’d been in the middle of a conversation when suddenly, noise just stopped coming out of their mouths.

It was clearly the work of the alien they were hunting. She was notorious for public massacres - muting her victims so nobody could hear them while they were dying almost in plain sight. She was one of the most vicious aliens they had to deal with to date.

Alex had tried to leave as soon as her voice stopped working. Maggie grabbed her wrist, squeezing, and she tried to speak with her eyes. Her mouth was set in a determined frown and she tilted her head to try and get her expression to say ‘stay, we need you’.

The message seemed to get across as Alex nodded and gestured with her head toward Maggie’s desk.

They might not have use of their voices but they still had the internet and that had to count for something.

Alex finally finds enough pads of paper for all of their usage and walks back to Maggie. She puts one hand on the back of her chair, the other on the desk, and leans down to get a view of the computer. Maggie can see her out of her periphery and she can  _ feel  _ Alex next to her.

Alex looks over at her and offers her a smile. It distracts Maggie for a moment. Well, a little longer than a moment, but that’s all she allows herself. Yes, Alex Danvers is beautiful, but they have an alien with a vendetta against them to catch. That needs to be priority number one.

Alex puts a hand on her shoulder to get her attention (not that she hasn’t always had it) and gestures with her chin toward Supergirl who is waving something frantically at them.

It’s a location.

But Supergirl has to go alone.

Alex’s eyes are narrowed and her jaw is visibly clenched.  _ No _ is visible in her expression. Maggie steps up next to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. She squeezes.  _ Relax, she’ll be fine  _ is what she tries to say and she feels Alex’s shoulders unclench against her hand. She takes a step forward and grips Supergirl’s hand.

And suddenly, Maggie feels like an outsider. Watching Alex give Supergirl tender, worried eyes makes her feel like she’s in high school again and she’s watching the popular couple in the hallway, feeling like she’ll never get that.

Except she  _ has  _ a girlfriend and this is Alex. The woman who finally made her feel like she belonged somewhere. She’s not an outsider anymore.

Her own jaw is clenched as she watches Supergirl hug Alex. Alex’s eyes are closed, her forehead wrinkled, and when she pulls away, Supergirl grabs both of her hands and squeezes them. It’s incredibly intimate and Maggie tries not to let herself feel anything. Not about this.

Supergirl turns to her and she gives her a sharp nod. Maggie returns it.

And then she’s off.

Alex stares at the spot that Supergirl just occupied. Maggie reaches out and grabs her hand. Alex nearly jumps but settles when they make eye contact. Alex’s eyes are sad and Maggie knows that she’s worried about Supergirl. Maggie pushes down the jealousy rising in her stomach because it’s not her place to be jealous. She has a girlfriend.

(Who, admittedly, Maggie hasn’t thought much about since this whole thing started. Oops.)

Maggie pulls on Alex’s hand. She tries to ask a question with her eyes.  _ Come with me?  _ but she’s never been great at this. Using her body to say what her mouth can’t. Unless it’s during sex. That she’s good at.

Alex just looks sort of confused so Maggie decides to just start walking. If she doesn’t want to stay with her, she doesn’t have to.

She does.

Maggie takes them to an interrogation room. It’s probably a little strange, that she likes being a soundproof room, but something about it is a little ironic. Based on the small smirk and quirked eyebrow that Alex gives her, she catches the irony as well.

Alex sits in the chair but Maggie opts to lean against the edge of the table.

Maggie knows Alex is nervous. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Alex cares about Supergirl. Maggie thinks that if Alex went off into battle without her, she might be the same way.

Which is a terrifying thought that she doesn’t feel like examining at the moment.

Alex’s eyebrows are wrinkled and her hands are resting on the table in front of them. Maggie grabs one. She drags her thumb across Alex’s knuckles and tries to put as much reassurance in the action as possible. Alex looks at her with wide eyes and a soft smile.

Neither of them moves. Alex has her head resting in her free hand. Maggie is staring at her.

She’s beautiful.

And Maggie shouldn’t be thinking about her like this because she has a girlfriend, who is the person she really should be concerned about, but instead she’s thinking about Alex and just how beautiful she is.

Alex drops Maggie’s hand but keeps grasp on her palm. With her fingers, she writes ‘ _ thank you _ ’. Maggie smiles. ‘ _ Anytime _ ’ she writes back.

Alex is relaxed around her. Maybe it’s all of those silent movies she watched as a kid, but she’s reading body language better than ever right now. And Alex is relaxed. For all of the bad things that could be happening outside, Alex is relaxed. Her shoulders aren’t clenched, her eyes are soft, and she’s leaning toward Maggie.

And the part of her that decided weeks ago that she didn’t stand a chance with Alex starts to fade.

Cops don’t relax. Not when someone they care about is in danger. Not unless they’re with someone they trust. Someone who calms them, brings them back the moment and out of the ‘what ifs’. For Maggie, the only person who has ever done that for her is her mom. 

And Maggie has to wonder if maybe,  _ maybe _ , she’s that person for Alex.

Alex sighs and when she does, it’s verbal.

The sound was back on. “We can talk,” Alex says, her voice excited as she shoots up from the chair and Maggie realizes just how much she missed the sound of it.

“Yes we can,” Maggie replies, nodding. Alex’s smile stretches across her face.

“She did it,” Alex says almost breathlessly. There’s a twinge in her stomach and suddenly, she finds herself wishing she were on the receiving end of that praise. Alex turns to Maggie. “Thank you,” Alex says sincerely, taking a step toward her.

Maggie smirks. “Anytime. I mean it,” she replies and Alex smiles at her. 

“I need to go find her,” Alex says softly and almost apologetically. Maggie nods. She understands. Supergirl means something to her, just like Alex means something to Maggie.

Alex starts to walk away but doubles back. She throws her arms around Maggie’s neck, which throws her for a moment, but she raises her hands to her back. 

When she pulls away, Alex flashes her one last smile before she pushes the door to the interrogation room open.

Maggie watches her leave and it occurs to her that maybe, her mom was right.

You really can learn everything from body language.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm agtalexdanvers on tumblr! follow me there if you want to send me a prompt, leave a comment, or just flail about sanvers.


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